It has long been an article of faith among most Faubourg Marigny leaders: The 50-foot height limit for new construction that has been in place for decades is vital to protecting the historic, mostly low-rise neighborhood from intrusions like the Christopher Inn apartment building for seniors at Royal and Frenchmen streets, which stands 100 feet high and is considered by many to be a visual blight.

View full sizeekistics inc.A Neoscape rendering of a pedestrian alley in the Elisio Lofts complex being proposed by developer Sean Cummings.

Not everyone agrees, however, and developers keep proposing higher buildings than the law allows, especially along Elysian Fields Avenue, the broad thoroughfare that splits the neighborhood and that many urban planners -- including the staff of the City Planning Commission -- believe is suitable for larger-scale buildings.

The latest project to reignite the old debate is a modernistic, six-story, 74-foot-tall apartment building that developer Sean Cummings wants to build at Elysian Fields and Decatur Street as part of a three-building complex that would contain 73 upscale apartments, probably to be converted to condominiums in a few years. The project also would have 74 covered parking spaces and three commercial spaces including a restaurant and a retail shop.

At its meeting last week, the planning commission voted 8-0 to recommend approval of the height waiver and other variances that Cummings needs.

Cummings pointed out that he could legally erect a 50-foot-high building stretching along the entire block of Decatur between Elysian Fields and Marigny Fields. But instead of a single 50-foot monolith, he argued, it would be more visually appealing and more in keeping with the spirit of Marigny to have three distinct buildings: new 74-foot and 48-foot buildings separated by a historic two-story warehouse, with the whole complex averaging a little under the 50-foot limit.

Saying he wants to "soulfully mix old with new" and "speak directly to the architectural eccentricities in Marigny," Cummings said his plan is to "create a monumental presence on the wide boulevard, sloping down respectfully and sensitively to lower heights" on the side streets, where the 50-foot limit is "highly appropriate."

His thinking is in accord with a document called Riverfront Vision 2005 that the planning commission adopted a few years ago over the protests of many in Marigny. It called for offering 25-foot "bonuses" above the normal 50-foot height limit on new buildings at the river end of major streets in Marigny.

The planning staff said the bonuses would "encourage exceptional and creative design, new residential uses, public open space, improved access and pedestrian amenities" at the foot of Elysian Fields and Press Street.

But many residents, led by the Faubourg Marigny Improvement Association, charged the planning staff with favoring developers' desire to make money over residents' desire to preserve the quality of life and character that had attracted them to the neighborhood.

The commission approved the plan in 2006, but with some misgivings. Even though he voted for it, Chairman Tim Jackson noted that actually changing the zoning law would require further action by the commission as well as the council.

The council also endorsed the plan, but at the request of Councilman James Carter, it added an amendment saying the vote "should not be taken as a blanket endorsement of every recommendation" in the document. The amendment also noted that "all zoning changes and each project or development proposal that requests a variance from existing zoning and scale will go through the normal community input and legal review processes."

That review process is what last week brought Cummings before the commission, which received more than 100 letters of support for his project. Most praised the project's architecture and said it would represent progress for Marigny, bringing in new residents while taking "price pressure" off existing apartments. Several said the commercial spaces would bring life to a block that now is uninviting and even dangerous to pedestrians and cyclists.

Besides the height issue, several critics pointed to a lack of parking, noting that Cummings proposes to provide fewer than half of the 159 off-street spaces required by the current zoning law.

The planning staff said that law is "extremely antiquated" and 74 spaces should be sufficient in a neighborhood where many residents walk, ride bikes or use public transit. But some residents said that even if the spaces are enough for the 73 apartments, they offer no parking for restaurant patrons.

Other critics warned that approving Cummings' project would set a precedent for more developers to propose buildings up and down Elysian Fields that would exceed the 50-foot limit, though the planning staff said it probably would not endorse any project taller than 75 feet.

Resident Marshall Gries said the hard work of current residents has created a "safe, cool, tony little neighborhood that everybody wants to move to, and then when they get there, the rules have got to change."

But supporter Billy Patout, a real estate agent who said he has sold several nearby properties in recent months, said people want to move to Marigny "because it is a progressive area and a developing area" and Cummings' project would "further that ideal."